The present invention relates to a door and home security system and method. More particularly, the present invention provides a door security system and a method improving security at home for elder people without limiting the privacy of or convenience for residents.
The present generation of elderly people remains more active than ever. Rather than moving into specially observed hones and retirement homes, they regard their own homes, having lived there for a long time, the ideal place to live after retirement and arrange themselves accordingly; this is a generational change that has happened only within the last 15 to 25 years. Before then, retirees usually considered moving to a retirement home or a living facility at a much earlier age than nowadays. Presently, retirement homes are used more to help those with pressing diseases such as dementia or other ailments requiring around-the-clock care.
However or due to said societal changes, retirees are considered perfect prey for devious kinds of villains; elderly being attacked in their own homes by fraudsters has evolved into a full industry. Even violent acts against retirees have been heard of; apprehensive in assaulting younger victims, some criminals consider the fragility of the elderly a perfect opportunity for enacting heinous crimes.
Therefore, security systems were developed basically comprising of easy and cost-efficient to install cheap surveillance materials in every room, from the bathroom to the kitchen, telecasting every movement to a supervision centre, much like the ‘Big Brother” TV series of the early millennium. However, this is an unacceptable invasion of privacy. Furthermore, constant supervision of such systems would not be financially viable as it constantly demands manpower to attend and supervise even a single-person household. Further, doors as used in private and public buildings are usually locked and secured using a number of different locking systems. For example, doors may be equipped with a locking bolt that is turned by a mechanical key or driven electrically. In addition, doors may comprise latches and strikes which allow for opening by pushing the door and/or by pressing handles or turning door knobs from one or both sides.
Residential homes often combine a latch and strike plate with a locking bolt to provide two levels of door security. Also, many doors have a fixed knob on the outside and a handle or turning knob on the inside, such that the door can only be reopened from the outside when a key (or other security means, such as a RFID chip or PIN code entered into a number pad) is used. If the door is quickly closed and the user has forgotten the key, there is no easy way for entering the building again. This seems to happen more often to elderly people such that an efficient and convenient security system and method should also take into account the case of an accidental closing of doors or forgetting the keys inside the building.
Further, the second lock such as the locking bolt then needs to be closed using a key of some kind to provide full security. In most home and burglary insurance contracts, double locking is a requirement for full coverage, yet often forgotten by the insured and in particular by elderly people. In 1997, Belgian police estimated 17% of all doors opened by burglars had only been shut but not locked even once, let alone twice.
Thus, there is a need for a security system and method increasing home security without negative influence on the resident's privacy or convenience.